Loading blade dispensers



April 15, 1958 R. L. SINCLAIR 2,830,414

LOADING BLADE DISPENSERS Original Filed Jan. 8, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet lApril 15, 1958 R. L. SINCLAIR LOADING BLADE DISPENSERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Original Filed Jan. 8, 1955 April 15, 1958 R. L. SINCLAIR LOADING BLADEDISPENSERS Original Filed Jan. 8, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 2773672207'$0,441, A wad; W

United States Patent LOADING BLADE DISPENSERS Robert L. Sinclair,Dedham, Mass., assignor to The Gillette Company, Boston, Mass., acorporation of Delaware Original application January 8, 1953, Serial No.330,214, now Patent No. 2,722,308, dated November 1, 1955. Divided andthis application March 28, 1955, Serial No. 497,211

9 Claims. (Cl. 53-37) This invention comprises a novel process ofloading dispensers with thin sharp-edged blades such as safety razorblades.

The present application is a division of my application Serial No.330,214 filed January 8, 1953, now issued as U. S. Patent No. 2,722,308on November 1, 1955.

The invention is herein shown in its application to a dispenserconstructed at least in part of resinous plastic material that may bereadily and accurately molded to shape. Such plastic materials have theadvantage of being light in weight, moisture and corrosion proof and oflow cost to the manufacturer. They are, however, under some conditionssubject to deformation by cold flow of the plastic material whensubjected to continuous stress, as for example, the pressure exerted bya spring located within the dispenser for positioning the blade stack.An object of the present invention is to obviate this weakness byproviding in the dispenser a self-contained metallic system effective toexert continuous pressure upon the blade stack independently of theplastic elements of the dispenser.

In the illustrative example herein shown, the main body of the dispensermay be molded from resinous plastic, and this combined with a sheetmetal cover which is connected to the plastic body and provided with athumb or finger opening. A bowed spring is disposed within the dispenserand supported entirely upon the metal cover independently of the plasticbody and of the connection between the plastic body and the metal cover.The bowed spring is supported in such a position as to bias the bladestack always toward the finger opening of the cover, and in this mannera completely self-contained metallic system including the spring isprovided. The plastic body is, therefore, entirely relieved ofcontinuous stress so that it may be relied upon to hold its shape for anindefinite period of time and is not subject to deformation regardlessof changes in temperature that it may undergo.

The process of the invention is characterized by the steps ofsuperimposing a stack of blades upon a flat spring plate or blade, thencurving or bowing the plate in situ, and finally latching or fasteningthe plate in its bowed and stressed condition while maintaining theblade stack undisturbed above it.

Preferably and as herein shown, the metal cover is flanged to supportthe opposite edges of the spring plate and under these circumstances,this plate may be bowed by pressure exerted on it through the superposedblades of the stack and brought into its flange-supported position whilein bowed condition, all without imposing any stress upon the plasticbody of the dispenser.

Going more into detail, it is proposed to assemble the blades in stackformation upon a fiat spring plate within the dispenser, then to bow thespring transversely by pressure exerted in part through the blade stack,and finally, to transfer the spring-supporting function to flanges ofthe cover, thereby biasing the blade stack toward the Patented Apr. 15,1958 finger-opening of the cover while leaving the plastic body of thedispenser entirely free of stress.

The dispenser has further novel features of construction, and among themare those that provide within the body of the dispenser a used bladecompartment. This is effected, as herein shown, by forming at both endsof the plastic body tables or platforms raised above the bottom andshaped to locate a blade-supporting plate at a level suitable for thetop of an underlying chamber. Blade inlet slots are provided in thebottom of the base at the inner end of each table. The tables not onlylocate the blade-supporting plate for this purpose, but also sup plyrests for it during the blade loading operation, although it may betemporarily lifted from the tables while the spring is being bowed inengaging it with the flanges of the sheet metal cover. A characteristicand desirable feature of the dispenser is that it employs a normallyflat spring and that the maximum deformation of the spring is initiallyimparted to it by the steps of the process herein disclosed. As thespring performs its function of progressively moving the uppermost bladeof the stack into discharging position, the deformation and stress ofthe spring gradually decreases; that is to say, the spring approachesits normal fiat condition progressively as the number of blades in thestack approaches exhaustion.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the elements of the dispenser shownin exploded relation.

Figs. 2 and 3 are views in cross section, partly in elevation,illustrating the loading and assembling steps.

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of the loaded dispenser, and

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the same.

In its illustrated form the dispenser comprises four elements inaddition to the blade stack which it contains. These, as shownindividually in Fig. l, comprise a body molded of plastic resin, a metalspring plate which is initially flat, a ribbed supporting plate of sheetmetal and a cover, also of sheet metal.

The plastic body, while not necessarily of uniform thickness in all itsparts, is designed so that its mass is distributed as equally aspossible throughout its entire area, since this is a conditionfacilitating both the molding operation and the sturdiness of the moldedstructure. The body comprises a fiat bottom 10 substantially rectangularin contour and having upright side walls 11 and 12, both of which areinterrupted so as to form a wide notch or recess symmetrically locatedin the walls on opposite sides of the body. The lower edges of the wallsections are provided with a downwardly opening channel 13 for thereception of flanges on the side wall of the cover as will presentlyappear. The bottom 10 terminates at each end in a semicircular recess oropening 14 while the side walls 11 and 12 extend beyond these recessesand are connected by low end walls 15 and 16. From the end walls extendinwardly flat tables 17 and 18 with rounded inner ends, and from thesetables extend upstanding studs 19 and 20. The tables 17 and 18 arelocated substantially above the level of the bottom 10 and serveinitially to hold the supporting plate which underlies the blade stack.

Each end wall 15 and 16 merges into an upwardly curved bottom sectionshaped to supply at one end the lower edge 21 of a blade exit openingand at the other end to provide a lower edge 22 for a corresponding exitopening. These bottom sections extend between the side walls 11 and 12and are provided at each end with a projecting cover-supporting lug23-24 which is located slightly below the top edge of the side walls.Both of the side walls are provided at each of their ends with externalpads 25 which provide shoulders against the inner edges of which theends of the cover are to be fitted and which also supply a pleasingfinish to the dispenser. as a whole.

The bottom is also provided with a pair of spaced parallel apertures inthe form of slots 26 located symmetrically in the median transverse axisof the bottom and serving to admit the passage of spring flexing bladesor tools as will be presently described.

The spring leaf or plate 30 as shown in Fig. l is rectangular in shapeand provided with rectangular ears 31 in its front and rear edges. Inassembling the dispenser, the leaf 30 is placed in a flat position uponthe bottom 10, being of the width to fit with clearance in the recessesformed by the interruption of the side walls 11 and 12. The ears 31 arespaced to gauge the spring plate transversely and locate itsymmetrically with respect to the bottom 10 by engaging the upstandingside walls of the base. As shown in Fig. l, the spring leaf 30 isinitially and normally flat. It is, however, bowed transversely inassembling the elements of the dispenser and remains in upwardly concaveposition in the loaded dispenser.

The supporting plate is rectangular in outline and comprises a flatcentral portion 35 connected by two downwardly converging ribs 36 tofiat parallel side portions which lie in the same plane as the centralportion 35. This portion is provided with long slots 37 at both endsshaped to receive with clearance the upstanding studs 19 and of thebase. The ribs 36 are cut away at both ends so that the notched ends ofthe central portion 35 may rest flatly upon the tables 17 and 18 of thebase and are reduced in depth throughout their central sections for adistance corresponding to the length of the recesses of the side walls11 and 12. The side sections of the supporting plate are provided withelongated notches or recesses 38 to afford clearance for the ends of thespring plate 30, when the latter is subsequently bowed upwardly at itsouter edges about the ribs 36'as fulcrums. A function of the plate 35 isto support the blade stack always in flat condition. This is importantwhen only 2 or 3 blades remain in the stack as if the spring boredirectly on them, it would cause bowing that might interfere with properdischarge of the blades. The plate keeps even the last blade of thestack in fiat condition.

The cover 42 is formed from a single integral blank of spring sheetmetal and includes a flat rectangular portion provided symmetricallywith an elongated thumb or finger opening having an inturned rim 43, andis folded inwardly at both ends to provide rounded edges 44 and 45cooperating with the edges 21 and 22 to provide the upper edges of bladeexit openings at opposite ends of the dispenser.

The cover is also provided with down-turned side walls 46 and 47 whichcorrespond in length to the distance between the pads of the base andare provided at the lower edges with up-turned flanges 48, 49 designedto fit in the channels 13 already mentioned as being provided in thelower edges of the walls 11 and 12. The downturned side walls 46 and 47are located symmetrically in the cover and the up-turned flanges 48 and49, as will be apparent from Fig. 1, have shallow end portions andcentral portions 50 and 51, respectively, of substantial height. Thehigh portions 50 and 51 of the up-turned flanges are symmetricallylocated in the transverse median axis of the cover and correspond inlength approximately to the width of the spring plate and the recessesformed in the side walls of the base. They are biased inwardly topositions beneath the outer edges .of the spring leaf 30 as indicated inFig. 3.

The dispenser is herein shown as designed to contain 12 to 20 unwrappedsafety razor blades 40 of the type shown in Fig. 1, that is to say,doubled-edged longitudinally slotted blades having corner 1 notchesdefining til elongated unsharpened end portions. The blades are arrangedin the dispenser alternately in longitudinal overlapping relation. Theslots on one series of the blades are engaged by the abrupt outershoulder or end edge of the stud 20 while the slots of the other seriesare correspondingly engaged by the shoulder or outer edge of the studs19. Each blade, therefore, is positively held against inward movementbut may be readily displaced and ejected by outward movement undertraction supplied by the thumb of the user and removed through itsadjacent exit opening. While the blade stack rests upon the plate itwill be seen that the studs 19, 20 pass through the end notches of theplate and enter the slots of the blades upon the plate.

It will be seen that (l) the recesses provided in the opposite sideswalls of the plastic base, (2) the elongated notches 38 in the oppositeedges of the blade-supporting plate, (3) the sections of reduced depthin ribs 36, and (4) the spring 30 are all of the same longitudinaldimension and are all located in transverse registered positions whenassembled in the dispenser.

The loading and assembling steps are carried out to best advantage withthe assistance of a fixture like that shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Thiscomprises a base 60 containing a movable bed-plate 61 supported in aninitial elevated position by spring-encircled studs 62 guided forvertical movement in bushings provided in the base 60. The side walls ofthe base are flanged to limit the upward movement of the bed-plate 61and hold it at a pre-determined level. A pair of spaced upstandingspring-flexing pins 63 project upwardly through holes in the bed-plate61, and these pins are designed to pass freely through the holes 26,already described as provided in the bottom 10 of the plastic base ofthe dispenser.

The fixture also includes a vertically movable plunger 70 of suchdimensions as to pass freely through the finger opening 43 of the sheetmetal cover. The plunger is provided with the shoulder 71 and issurrounded by a sleeve 72, which is initially engaged by the shoulder 71and provided with vacuum passages 73 terminating in ports located in theend of the sleeves. The sleeve 72 is thus adapted to pick up the sheetmetal cover 42 and to move it forcibly downward in registration with theplastic base which has already been presented to the bed-plate 61 in theposition shown in Fig. 2.

The plastic base is positioned upon the bed-plate 61 with theblade-supporting plate 35 resting upon the raised tables 17, 18 and witha stack of blades positioned thereon by the studs 19 and 20 which passupwardly through the end notches 37 of the ribbed plate. The elementsabove-described are shown in this position in Fig. 2.

In the actual assembling step the plunger 70 is first brought intocontact with the blade stack and then the sleeve 72 descends with thesheet metal cover 42. Then both the plunger and the sleeve descendtogether, depressing the bed-plate 61 and causing the pins 63 to engagethe spring leaf 30 which until now has lain in flat condition upon thebottom 10 of the base with its side edges extending into the recesses inthe side walls 11 and 12. As this movement continues, the spring 30 isbowed upwardly at both edges to a position of maximum deformation overthe ribs 36 of the blade-supporting plate which now acts as fulcrums.Meanwhile, the side walls 46 and 47 of the sheet metal cover encounterthe upwardly tapering sections of the walls 11 and 12 of the base andare deflected outwardly by camming action with the result that theopposite edges of the bowed spring pass upwardly above the edges of theupstanding flanges and 51, while these flanges move inwardly beneath theedges of the spring as soon as the side walls 46 and 47 have passeddownwardly beneath the wall sections 11 and 12 so that they can snapinto the channels 13 in the base of these walls. The elements are shownin this position in Fig. 3, and it will be apparent that when the partsof the fixture are now separated, the spring 30 will be left in bowedcondition biasing the spring-supporting plate 35 upwardly and yieldinglyholding the uppermost blade in the stack against the downturned rim 43of the finger-opening and always in flat condition so that it may beproperly discharged through the exit slotv The side walls 46 and 47 ofthe cover have meanwhile filled the space between the end pads of theside walls 11 and 12 of the base, and the shallow upturned flanges ofthese walls have snapped into the channels 13 thus permanently unitingthe cover and base. The stack of blades 40 is enclosed within thedispenser and the spring is mounted in bowed condition upon theupstanding flanges of the metal cover. The upward thrust of the springis, therefore, carried entirely in a closed metallic system and theplastic base relieved of all continuing stress. While the spring isherein shown as an initially flat leaf, any other form of spring may beemployed with corresponding modification of its metal supportingstructure.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail anillustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

1. The process of loading dispensers with thin flexible safety razorblades, which is characterized by the steps of superimposing a stack ofsharp-edged blades upon a flat spring within the dispenser, then curvingand stressing the said spring in situ beneath the blade stack, andlatching the spring in its curved and stressed condition whilemaintaining the blade stack undisturbed above it.

2. The process of loading dispensers with thin flexible blades, which ischaracterized by the steps of assembling thin, sharp-edged blades instack formation above a flat spring and within a dispenser, bowing andstressing the spring transversely beneath the blades while maintainingthe arrangement of the blade stack undisturbed, and then locking theopposite edges of the bowed spring in position to maintain the springpermanently under stress beneath the blade stack.

3. The process of loading with thin flexible blades a dispenser whichhas a plastic body and a flanged sheet metal cover, which ischaracterized by the steps of assembling a stack of thin, sharp-edgedblades above a fiat spring within the body of the dispenser, thensupporting the opposite edges of the spring and bowing andsimultaneously stressing the spring beneath the blades by pressureexerted on the superposed blades, and finally engaging the oppositeedges of the bowed spring with the flanges of the cover.

4. The process of loading with thin, sharp-edged blades a dispenserhaving a plastic body and a flanged sheet metal cover perforated by afinger opening; the process comprising the steps of assembling a stackof the blades upon a flat spring in the body of the dispenser,supporting the spring at its opposite edges, bowing and stressing thesprmg downwardly by pressure exerted through the blade stack, spreadingthe flanges of the cover, and finally transferring the spring-supportingfunction to the flanges of the cover, thereby pressing the blade stacktoward the finger opening of the cover.

5. The process of loading with thin sharp upwrapped blades a dispenserhaving a plastic body and a flanged sheet metal cover, comprising thesteps of assembling a stack of the blades within the plastic body of thedispenser while resting upon a flat spring, bowing and stressing thespring in situ beneath the blade stack, and then, without disturbing thestacked arrangement of the blades, forming a self-contained metallicsystem including the bowed spring and the metal cover.

6. The process of loading with thin, sharp-edged blades a dispenserhaving a plastic body with a flat bottom and a metal cover with upturnedresilient flanges rising above the sides of the bottom, the processincluding the steps of supporting the flat bottom of the dispenser andsaid upturned flanges, resting a normally flat spring upon thesuppported bottom of the dispenser, locating a stack of blades above thespring, then spreading the flanges, forcibly bowing the spring betweenthem by pressure exerted through the blade stack, and contracting theflanges into spring-supporting position beneath the bowed spring.

7. The process defined in claim 6 in which the spring is bowed bydownward pressure exerted through the blade stack supplemented by upwardpressure exerted on spaced areas of the spring by pins projected throughholes in the bottom of the dispenser.

8. The process defined in claim 7 in which the resilient flanges of thecover snap under the edges of the bowed spring and maintain it in bowedcondition thrusting against the blade stack.

9. The process of assembling and loading with razor blades a dispenserhaving a plastic bottom and a sheet metal top with side walls shaped tointerlock with the bottom, comprising the steps of locating a stack ofblades upon a flat spring on the bottom of the dispenser, and thenbowing the edges of the spring upwardly beneath the stack andsimultaneously both forcing the side walls of the top into interlockingengagement with the bottom and the bowed-up edges of the spring intoengagement with the metal top forming a closed metal system whichincludes the spring.

Suring Sept. 1, 1953 Shnitzler et al. Oct. 26, 1954

